


12.) All’s well that ends well

by alivealivealive



Category: Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell, Simon Snow & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fake Dating, Idiots in Love, Light Angst, M/M, Romantic Fluff, School Dances, Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Pitch in Love, jk, maybe some plot??, the autor loves fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-08-12
Packaged: 2020-08-20 03:09:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20220802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alivealivealive/pseuds/alivealivealive
Summary: Fifth year's Summer Ball is next Saturday and Simon can't think of anything else but taking his arch-nemesis as his date.Nobody can believe they're not trying to pull a prank.Fluff ensues.





	12.) All’s well that ends well

**Author's Note:**

> Avatar by Venessa Kelley. Check out her brand-new graphic novel, [MANU. ](https://manu-graphic-novel.tumblr.com/) (omg! EPISODE THREE just dropped).
> 
> Eternally grateful to [@WO2Ash,](https://wo2ash.tumblr.com/) who beta'd this chapter for me ❤️(and did a magnificent job at it)

##### Simon

“Simon.”

_“Simon.”_

A high-pitched voice snaps me out of my thoughts about last night. I look up to find Trixie holding out a flier, narrowing her eyes.

“Summer Ball, Simon. Next Saturday.”

“Uh, ah. Thanks,” I mumble as she smiles, her eyes glowing happily. Trixie has been on the organising committee for these kinds of events since second year, and I can tell she loves them. And she does a bloody good job at them too.

I groan as I remember that I won’t have a date this year. I probably won’t go. It used to be a tradition of some sort, between Agatha and I. We’d attend every single ball and for a night, we’d be the happiest couple on earth.

My eyes roam over the flowers printed on the glossy card anyway, and then I glance back at Baz, who’s crumpling up his own flier and then shoving it into his backpack. He notices I’m looking at him and sneers.

Like he didn’t kiss me last night, right after I thanked him for leaving his notes out so I could study for Elocution. I know he did it on purpose.

He was getting out of the bathroom after his posh nightly routine when I told him I had passed. (I barely scrapped the passing mark, but still.) 

He sneered, but I kept grinning from where I was sitting in bed.He stopped walking once he reached the space between our beds.

He gave up on recasting the barrier spell after a while after _that_ night. I was still rambling, so he grabbed both of my cheeks and kissed me softly. He then got into bed without another word.

I’ve been trying hard to give him space to figure things out, but his cold mouth on mine was still a welcome surprise. These little interactions are the secrets that we’ve been keeping, and somehow that makes them feel more special, like they can’t be touched by all that’s evil and bound to tear us apart. 

As I’m leaving the classroom, I get the idea that maybe…maybe I could ask him to go with me. Maybe he’d agree, just as a test of some sort. To see if we’d work in a setting that’s not our bedroom.  
-

I’m in line to get tickets for the Ball. I’m practically bouncing up and down, and I don’t know if it’s due to my nervousness or excitement. Both, I guess. Trixie is sitting at a wooden table, just outside the Dining Hall with a banner and her friend Keris. There are balloons and flowers magicked into the wall behind them.

I’m next, so I straighten myself up. Once Rhys has bought his tickets, he says a quick hi and hurries past me in his wheelchair. I wonder who is he going with…

Trixie is filling in the information on the tickets.

“Hmm, Simon Snow.”

I nod, “Yeah. Two, please.” 

She uncaps her sharpie and scribbles my name. She rips my ticket from the pad and then starts on the second ticket, “And Agatha Wellbelove, right?”

“Uh, no. It’s for someone else,” I reply.

Both of her eyebrows shoot up into her hairline, but she nods. “Okay then, Chosen One. Who’s the mystery girl?”

“Actually, it’s- it’s for Baz. Baz Pitch,”

Trixie starts laughing immediately. I stare dumbfounded at the wall behind her as both of them keep laughing like I gave them a bloody laughing potion. Or a bottle of tequila, I guess.

After a good minute, she finally speaks, uncapping her marker again. “Um, that was a good one. Come on,”

I arch an eyebrow, just like Baz does. “I’m serious.”

My magick is filling up the room, and I feel like I’m blurring around the edges, so she shrugs and writes his name on the second ticket.

Once she slides them over the table, I hand her a coin made out of Goblin gold. You’re not really obligated to pay for them, it’s more of a donating sort of thing, but Ebb has told me that the funds go into the maintenance of the goats and other animals that inhabit Watford.

I’ve been sitting on the idea of inviting Baz for two days now, and if I want to go with him, I have to speak now, so I wait for him to get back from dinner.

#####  Baz 

It’s barely Wednesday and I’m already exhausted. I’ve dragged myself through the day with a promise of a long shower, so when I open the door to our room, I barely look at Snow.

He seems to be keen on getting my attention, though. He jumps up from his desk, almost knocking his chair down. 

“Baz, I- can I-“

He’s so flustered that I can’t help the way the corner of my mouth lifts to the side in a half-smile.

“Relax, Snow. It’s only me,”

I turn away from him, unbuttoning my jacket. I hang it over the back of my chair. He’s still in the same spot, so I undo my tie as well.

“I know. I, I want to ask you something.”

“I’m listening.” I toss my notebook on his bed. “If you want my homework, it’s there. There’s no need to be so dramatic about it, Snow.” 

He groans, “Look at me.”

I turn and he takes a step forward, almost invading my personal space. I don’t mind. These days, those lines are increasingly blurry.

He looks down, a flush spreading deliciously over his cheeks. I want to kiss them. He reaches inside the pocket of his trackies and produces two pieces of paper.

Oh. _Oh._

He runs his hair over his curls. I watch as they flop back onto his forehead. It’s late enough in the school year for his hair to be infuriatingly long. 

He holds my gaze. “D’you, um, wanna go to the ball with me?”

I open my mouth. Close it again. This moron. It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just that I always skip these things because the only person I’d have liked to go with was him. Also, I know people are going to talk. 

I realise it’s been a while since I’ve said something when he looks down and takes a step back.

Because I’m a constant disappointment to myself, I reach for his hand.

“Snow. It’s not that I don’t want to.”

I really want to go. I’ve never had a date for these things. I haven’t gone to a ball since third year either. 

He nods and swallows slowly. “Yeah. It’s fine. I don’t know what I was thinking,”

“Snow. I don’t think my family would take it well, and neither would your mentor.”

He squeezes my hand and searches my face with his eyes.

“This isn’t about them. I thought it’d be good. To see if we’d work if we were actually dating.” He mumbles.

I snort, despite how good that sounds. A date. A fucking date would be dangerously close to making this, whatever we’re doing, official. 

“You’re a moron. Do you want us to tumble around pretending to be on a date?”

He pulls me forward, and I let him. Because it’s late. Because I’m tired and I can keep telling myself that for now.

“Crowley, yeah. I mean. It’s not like we’re _not_ something else.”

“We’re roommates, Snow. You’re thick. Just because we’ve snogged here and there, doesn’t mean we’re boyfriends.”

“Are you always so cruel when someone is trying to be good to you?”

I place my hand on the side of his neck and lean my head down. I think I’m going to kiss him. Maybe we can’t do this in public, but here, we can. This is all I think of lately.

He pulls back.

“Baz. Go to the Ball with me. I’m being serious. If all goes to shit, we can say it was a dare or something like that,” he says, not looking at me.

“Hmm.” I pause for a second, meeting his eyes, “Snow. You can’t even dance, and that’s not our biggest problem.”

He’s ghosting his thumb over the back of my hand, and when he juts his chin out, I know I’ve already lost.

“Teach me, then.” He replies like it’s a challenge.

“You’re ridiculous. You’re not going to learn in three days.”

He shrugs. I scramble around in my brain, trying to find another excuse to turn him down.

“I don’t have an outfit.” I continue.

He rolls his eyes. “You’re ridiculous. There are at least five suits in your wardrobe.” His eyes meet mine and then looks down at my mouth. It’s unnerving, “Baz. Let’s go on a date. A fake one, if you will.”

“You’re an idiot.”

He pulls on my hand and grins, “But you’re not saying no.”

“But I’m not saying no.”

He connects his mouth to mine, and I know I never had a chance against him.

-

“Snow, you’re atrocious,” I say as he steps on my toes for the tenth time today.

I knew he was going to be an unskilled dancer, but I didn’t think he’d be this terrible. Tomorrow is the ball, and thanks to Fiona, I have something to wear. Granted she doesn't know about the identity of my date, but she still offered to bring one of my best suits to Watford. 

Snow huffs and looks down at our feet. 

"Sorry, I get a bit distracted. Having you like this," he says against my neck. 

I place a finger under his chin and lift it up. 

"You do?" 

"Mmm. You're too close." 

He lifts his head up and covers my mouth with his. I let him in anyway and shiver at the movement of his chin that he seems to do every time he tries to get to me.

It's working. 

There's a knock at the door, which startles us both. I grab my cat from where it’s resting on by bed and run into the bathroom. Snow jumps on his bed, where his schoolwork lies abandoned since I stepped into the room.

It’s the Mage. Simon has gone quiet since he got through the door, and now he’s asking him about the rumours that are circulating about us going together.

Of fucking course. He’s going to backtrack now because that’s just how Snow is. I rest my head on the back of the door. Frankly, I don’t know why I even thought this could happen when the Mage is clearly going to manipulate him.

“Then, why are you going with Basil? You have a perfectly nice girlfriend,”

I can smell Snow’s magic from where it’s drifting in under the door. He’s close to going off now.

“Aggie is not my girlfriend anymore,” Simon argues.

The Mage clears his throat. I can almost imagine him shaking his head while he looks down at Snow.

“Well, you should try to fix it. It was clearly a mistake on your part. Besides, this is probably a part of the Families’ plans. You know that.”

There’s a pause, where I can almost hear Snow’s brain scrambling for an answer.

“Sir, it’s nothing like that! You don’t know what it’s like.”

The Mage’s boots thump loudly against the floor. I think he’s walking away.

“When you’re done playing games, let me know, Simon. Meanwhile, I’ll take care of things that matter, like defeating the Humdrum.”

“Sir- I-”

The door slams closed. 

I open the bathroom door and cross the room without looking at Simon.

“Baz. Talk to me-“ He yells.

I can’t bear to see him trying to find an excuse to cancel on me, so I leave too, still holding my cat. He’s proven to be trust-worthy partner when I’m on the hunt.

I don’t come back until I’m sure he’s already asleep.

-  
<5> Simon 

Baz had a morning training session with the football team, and when he came back, he kicked me out of the room so he could get ready.

I left for breakfast early in the morning, but before that, I made sure to scribble a note for him, just in case he thought we weren’t on after my fight with the Mage. 

He didn’t say anything about the note, but I did see it peaking out of his kit bag when he set it down on his desk. 

Since he wanted the room for himself, I had to get ready with Rhys and Gareth for the ball. It’s not like I was going to do much, anyway. I just took a shower and put on the only suit I own. Then they helped me part my hair to the side like I usually do on these kinds of events.

Baz on the other hand must be performing some sort of dark magic ritual so his hair looks exactly like he wants it to. I hope he wears it loose.

When I told Penny I was taking Baz as my date, she shook her head, but she told me she saw it coming. I don’t think Agatha knows, but if she does, I don’t think she’d mind.

So now, I’m lying across Gareth’s bed waiting for Baz to be ready. The ball is supposed to have begun at least half an hour ago. The boys have already gone to meet their dates at the Cloisters. 

Baz is probably going to waltz in here any minute now and say: “I can’t be there early, Snow. Fashionably late is the way to make an entrance.”

Just as if I’ve magicked him here (I’m not sure I didn’t, given the status of my magic), there’s a knock at the door.

I jump up and take a last look at myself in the mirror. I think I look okay, or as okay as I can since I’ve been lying on my jacket for an hour now.

#####  Baz 

Snow’s wearing an ill-fitting black suit, but he still managed to make me gasp when I saw him open the door. He’s wearing his dress shoes and a bowtie. Although the fit of the jacket is a bit tighter than it should be, it somehow accentuates his broad shoulders. 

I’m desperately trying not to show how excited I feel about this as we step out onto the lawn, not holding hands, just walking next to each other. 

I step into the stone area of the dance floor first, with him following closely behind until we find Dev and Niall.

I can tell that people are looking at us and we’re not even touching. Chomsky forbid we actually want to dance together.

“Gentlemen,” I nod my head as we join them. 

Dev lifts an eyebrow, “Baz, Simon. Glad you actually made it out of the room.”

“Tosser,” Snow replies.

Dev and Niall smirk, they were both in deep conversation with Bunce, who’s wearing a yellow floor-length gown. The colour is lovely and really suits her skin.

Wellbelove is nowhere to be seen, which is surprising because I thought she’d accompany Dev. Our group is a slightly awkward mix, but it’s nice for Simon and me to be together without being obvious about it.

Snow scratches the back of his neck, “Uh, Baz. Do you want some punch?”

He’s trying to be serious about this date we’re supposed to be on.

“Actually, yes.”

I stay chatting idly with our friends, and although people are certainly looking, they seem to start getting bored with us. Everyone is scattered around in circles, trying to dance to the terrible playlist the pixie chose for the dance.

Snow returns and hands me a plastic cup. He lets his hand linger for a second, running his fingers over mine once I’ve gotten a hold of it.

“Thanks,” I mumble.

His cheeks colour, but he grins anyway.

I see Dev reaching into his jacket. He pulls out a silver flask and tips it at us. “Do you guys, uh, want some?”

I roll my eyes. Dev is an idiot. Although I’m sure everyone must be secretly getting pissed, if the Minotaur or Miss Possibelf sees us, we’re screwed.

“Crowley, Dev. Can you be more obvious about it?” Bunce scolds.

We both extend our cups towards him, anyway, trying to keep the flask out of everyone’s view by lowering them as he pours the alcohol into our drinks.

We’re half dancing, half chatting for a bit when suddenly, the terrible Arctic Monkeys song that was playing morphs into _Video Games _ by Lana del Rey. My heart constricts in my chest as I hear the first piano notes. I really like this song.

Snow’s eyes go from Bunce to Dev, and then to me. He extends his hand towards me.

He juts his chin out, “Wanna dance?”

Since I can’t seem to back down from a challenge, I smirk and take his hand. Niall takes both of our cups and we head towards the centre of the dance floor, where couples are swaying together.

It’s stupid to think about what we’re doing. It’s just a mess of teenagers trying to slow dance to a song we don’t even understand. But as he presses me close to him, his hand grabbing my shoulder just as I taught him how to, I let myself have this. Just for now.

We’re never going to work, I think to myself as the song goes on.

_He holds me in his big arms, drunk and I’m seeing stars…_

We’re swaying together, our eyes meeting every now and then. The intensity in his blue eyes is almost too much for me. Snow’s the first to speak. “I like this. I like you.”

I know that already, but my stomach still does a backflip at his words. I kiss the top of his head quickly.

“I know you do.”

I can hear people talking about us, all around. Having super hearing can be quite inconvenient, especially when you’re trying _not_ to know what everyone else is thinking.

_”I think it’s a prank…”_

_”I heard Baz is going to kill him,” _another voice says.

_”Snow isn’t even gay. He was just snogging Agatha this year,” _a sixth year adds.

_”With a Pitch? The Mage is going to have kittens…”_

I think he’s heard that last one because I feel him tense under my grip. He meets my eyes again.

“Can you hear-“ he mumbles.

I nod. “Simon. I warned you-“

“I know. I know. It’s just that-I didn’t want them to ruin our bloody date.”

The song comes to an end, and he lets go of me, so I drag him back to our friends. They’re nowhere to be found.

We’re doing a short lap around the lawn, trying to find them when he slips his warm hand into mine. At this point, I don’t care if Father himself sees us.

Having his attention on me like this is making me feel like this could work. Like if we tried hard enough, we would overcome every single obstacle that’s standing between us actually being together.

Keris and Trixie stop us halfway, calling our names. I roll my eyes.

For fuck’s sake.

They both approach us, clearly intoxicated.

“You can drop the act now, you know?”

Snow frowns, and I’m surprised that he squeezes my hand tighter.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he mumbles.

“Come on, it’s not even April Fool’s. It’s all wrong. Why are both of you trying to fool anyone?”

“Well. Perhaps you’d realise it’s nothing like that if you knew how Simon is. Not that it’s any of your business, anyway.” I spit.

We both leave them there, giggling to themselves. It hurts a little, to know no one would ever take us seriously given our history. We continue searching for our group.

Bunce is nowhere to be seen, and neither is Dev and Niall. I wonder if they got pissed and decided to leave…or if they wanted to go get pissed somewhere else since the dance was pretty grim.

Maybe Snow doesn’t want to be here anymore either.

I pull on his arm right behind the punch table.

“Snow.”

He turns quickly, letting my hand drop. “Ah, they’re not here,”

“I know. Want to ditch this ball? It’s lame anyway,” I say.

His face falls, “But, the date-“

“You’ve already taken me to the dance. Point proven. Besides, we don’t need to be here for it to continue being a date.”

I grab his hand this time and pull on his arm, heading towards the dining hall. I know just what’s going to cheer him up.

“Where are we going?” he asks.

I turn my face enough for him to see me wiggle my eyebrows, “Do you trust me?”

“Daring me to trust you?” he gives me a boyish grin, “Yeah. I do.”  
-

We ended up needing to borrow a small basket for all the stuff Snow wanted to take from the kitchens. He grabbed a couple of bottles of orange juice, a few roast beef sandwiches and chips, and of course, a pile of sour cherry scones. We also filled a flask with some coffee we found brewing in the machine. 

Hopefully, it wasn’t Cook Pritchard’s.

On our way back, we spotted Bunce and my friends up in the ramparts, dancing to pop music that probably came from Dev’s contraband speakers and phone. Bunce was twirling around, clutching a terrible alcopop bottle to her chest.

Snow wanted to make sure they were ok, so we went up to check. They were just playing Uno and dancing. Wellbelove had joined them by then, and she was dancing too.

I snickered when I saw the Uno cards.

“Good luck getting destroyed, Dev.”

I’m sure Bunce was going to wreck them, even if she’s completely pissed. They offered for us to stay, but we were way too sober to join, so we decided to head back to Mummer’s.

The tower is completely silent. I think we must be the only ones here. As I glance at my watch, I notice it’s only ten, so everyone will be back after midnight, at least. Dances at Watford are known to end well after sunrise, although the music officially stops at midnight.

The school is just too big for the teachers to keep an eye on us, so everyone ends up sneaking into empty classrooms or bedrooms to keep the party going. 

Snow drops the basket on his bed as I place the coffee flask on my desk.

“You’re going to study? Don’t be ridiculous, Baz.”

I frown. “No, I’m just not a barbarian. I’m not going to fling the coffee at my bed.”

He rolls his eyes and opens the window. The air is warm because it's summer, and there’s a sticky feeling to the atmosphere.

He climbs up onto the ledge and sits, his back against the window frame. Without even using his wand, he turns off the lights, leaving us bathed in moonlight. He can see me, but not as well as I can see him.

“Come on, let’s have dinner,” he says. 

I set the basket and the coffee next to his crossed feet and climb up, too. He unwraps a sandwich and takes a gigantic bite. _Figures._

The flask’s lid doubles as a cup, so I open it and pour some coffee in it. I lift it to my mouth. It’s sweet and almost too hot, the only way I like it. I wonder if I’m going to be able to sleep tonight, after what has happened today and this coffee. I decide that I don’t care.

“Can I have some?” Snow asks around a bite of scone.

“Yeah. Unlike you, I thought about bringing enough for both of us,”

He ignores my dig, so I hand him the cup and watch him as he takes a big sip. He gives it back and then chugs some orange juice. _Disgusting._

He’s asking stuff about my siblings and about my favourite subjects and it’s making me feel like I'm about to jump off a cliff. I can’t do this. He’s asking all this stuff like I’m not a monster. Like we’re on a real date and we’re getting to know each other before the second one.

So, I try to keep my answers more generic and less deep, explaining little about my childhood or my family. The thought that he might be trying to get information from me for the mage crosses my mind.

I think he realizes that, so, he veers the conversation towards our classmates and general gossip, and the comments he makes are hilarious. Snow is funny. That’s something I’ve noticed for a while, and sometimes it’s hard to keep my giggles suppressed when I’m supposed to hate him.

We’re laughing like we’re best friends and there isn’t a place I’d rather be than here, with my arse hanging halfway out of the window of the turret. Here, nothing seems to be able to harm us. Not even each other.

I barely managed to eat a scone while Snow’s already eaten most of the food we brought up. Thankfully, it’s dark and he was distracted enough to not question me when I covered my mouth every time I took a bite.

He grabs the basket and sets it down on the floor, then scoots until he’s close to me.

I clutch the coffee flask tightly with my left hand. He takes the cup from my other hand and gulps down its contents. 

“Snow.”

His shaky hands screw the flask closed, and he sets it on the floor, too.

“Relax, I’m not going to do anything.”

He’s close enough now that our knees are bumping because we’re sitting cross-legged. My hands find the sides of his face while he searches my eyes.

“Did you like this? I know it was shitty that everyone thinks it's a joke, but besides that…”

I peck his lips quickly and he yelps like a puppy. I don’t think he was expecting it. I’m surprised he hadn’t kissed me tonight. 

“I did. I clearly did.”

This time, he kisses me, opening his mouth gently over mine, and moving incredibly slow. This is by far, the most tender kiss we’ve shared. I feel like I’m about to cry, just with how softly his arms are snaking around my waist. 

I pull back.

“How long do we have before this turns into a shitshow and we have to kill each other?” I ask.

He kisses me again before answering.

“We don’t have to do that.”

“Snow. This was only our classmates. Imagine what’s going to happen when everyone finds out.”

He shrugs and his arms squeeze my sides.

“We don’t-Don’t know. Don’t care. I care about this.”

Absurdly courageous fuck. I kiss him again, this time letting his lips linger on mine a little bit longer as I lower my hands, placing them on the sides of his neck.

“The ending of this isn’t going to be pretty, Simon.”

He smiles at my use of his name. He grabs one of my hands from his neck and kisses my open palm.

“Well, tonight started out pretty shit, didn’t it?”

I nod.

“And it ended like this, which in my opinion, is the definition of _well_. It ended well because it ended with you.”

“Fucking sap.”

He shrugs, “So stop filling that head with thoughts about what’s going to happen if we ever have a beginning.” He shakes his head, looking at my lips. “It’ll end well, as long as I end up with you.”

I don’t say anything back, letting his words make my brain feel all gooey. Instead, I pull him to me, getting to my feet so I can hold him. He buries his head in my chest and inhales. 

As usual, I was right. This fake date, or whatever it was pushed things into a completely different territory. A more treacherous one. 

One that I’m not sure I’m ready to brave.

**Author's Note:**

> ** Hello! This is part of the Carry on Round Robin! Hope you enjoy it:)** Huge thanks to Ban for organising this. It's been an honour to create a story along with the writers that I admire the most in the fandom!
> 
> I hope this chapter somehow fits into the narrative. I'm sorry for all the fluff that this contains :) Some of it was written while I was having a rough night, so hopefully it's good :)
> 
> The line _"...by all that’s evil and bound to tear us apart." _ is a reference to @tbazzsnow(Artescapri)'s fic of the same name: [Never tear us apart. ❤️❤️❤️ ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17717462/chapters/41797835)  
&
> 
> The line:  
_“Do you trust me?”...“Daring me to trust you?” _ is also a reference to @The_Honeyed_Hufflepuff's chapter from this same round robin: [Dare You to Trust Me ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19755946)because it gave me all the feels ❤️❤️❤️
> 
> Prompt: Fake dating


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